ADVOCARE: Is it
an effective and healthy weight management and fitness program?

What is the
purpose of this treatment?

The AdvoCare program is a Metabolic Nutrition System (MNS)
that, “combines an essential mix of ingredients and phytochemical
herbs to increase energy levels and enhance your body’s ability to burn off
excess body fat” (www.easy-weight-loss-diets.com/advocare_diet.htm
).The Metabolic Nutrition System (MNS)
provides, “vital nutrients as well as supports for sustaining a healthy weight”
(www.chasefreedom.com/advocare2.html ).

What is the
rationale?

“Most people don’t eat an ideal diet day-in
and day-out…Others simply can’t eat enough to meet their body’s high demands for
peak performance vitamins, minerals, and health-promoting phytochemicals.MNS is designed to deliver the optimal amount
of nutritional ingredients to your body so that your personal biochemistry can
achieve peak

performance” ( www.chasefreedom.com/advocare2.html
).The program consists of three main
products, each targeting specific needs such as appetite suppression, MNS
gold, optimum nutrition ,MNS yellow,and abundant energy, MNS orange(www.easy-weight-loss-diets.com/advocare_diet.htm
).The program is chaired by “Robert Hackman, Ph. D., of University of California at Davis”, he,
“confirms that AdvoCare has a unique unparalleled
commitment to producing world class products.He travels the world to obtain premier herbs and natural phytochemicals” which are approved by AdvoCare’s
own Scientific and Medical Advisory Board as both healthy and effective (www.advocare.com/content/science_home.jsp?type=science ).

What claims
are made about the effectiveness of the treatment?

Not only does AdvoCare have its own Scientific and Medical Advisory Board
consisting of nine men and women certified in vast areas of science and health
to back the effectiveness of the programs, but a number of world class
endorsers. Theproduct
is used on the collegiate level by universities such as Alabama, University of
Georgia, Auburn, and Texas A&M.The
product has also been endorsed by professional athletes such as Tennessee’s own
quarterback Steve McNair, 2002 Diamondbacks All-Star

What evidence
if any is offered in support of these claims? Who is presenting this evidence
and why?

The chair of the
Science and Medical Advisory Board, Robert Hackman
Ph. D., states, “We don’t throw a dash of some ingredient so insignificant
that it can’t yield any desirable or lasting effects. If something is listed on
our labels, rest assured it’s enough quantity to actually have a positive
effect on you” (www.advocare.com/content/science_home.jsp?type=science ).The evidence offered is the scientific
opinions of AdvoCare’s Science and Medical Advisory
Board and Advocare’s Sports Advisory Council of
Strength and Conditioning assuring the “cutting-edge nutritional supplements
for weight management, wellness, and sports Performance” these experts, “stake
their reputations on the quality performance off these elite nutrition products
( www.advocare.com/content/servlet/AdvoWebServlet?type=products ). AdvoCare
also presents an impressive four page list of world class athletes who are not
only endorsers but users of the programs.The reasons for the two medical councils presenting such evidence can be
viewed as an economic one, since both of the Boards work for the program.The athletes and universities could be
endorsing the program because it really works, or for publicity or monetary
issues.

Published
Scientific Literature AboutAdvoCare

Are
there published studies supporting the effectiveness of AdvoCare?

There are no
published studies on the effectiveness AdvoCare.The program was established in 1993, yet no
studies have been done to testify to its effectiveness in reducing weight loss
or improving athletic performance.

Are
there any ingredients that may be adverse to one’s health?

The AdvoCare website makes the list of ingredients of its
products readily available(www.advocare.com/content/servlet/AdvoWebServlet?cmd=nutrifacts ). While researching some of the ingredients two were
proven by different scientific reviews as either ineffective and possibly
having some adverse effects.The first
ingredient brought into question is chitosan.Chitosan is,
“derived from shellfish” and is the, “so-called active ingredient …that
promises to absorb fat before the body does…” ( Zyla 2000).A
select few studies “initially suggested that chitosan
might be able to trim fat, these studies were ‘small, not well-controlled,
conducted in test tubes, and not published in peer-review journals’ says George
Blackburn, MD, PhD, director of the Center for study of Nutrition and Medicine
at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. ‘I’ve seen no data that
proved it boosts weight loss in humans’ he insists” (Zyla
2000).Also

another study done in the May 1999 issue of
the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, “showed that overweight
people who took eight capsules every day for four weeks didn’t loses- or gain-
any more weight than those who took placebo pills” (Zyla
2000). The ineffectiveness of chitosan has been proven
many times, but what’s more is, “some experts fear that chitosan
may bind nutrients such as Vitamin A, D, E, and K, which are chemically similar
to fat, and prevent them from being absorbed” (Zyla
2000).Thus, chitosan
is at best ineffective and at worst harmful by removing vital vitamins your
body needs.The second ingredient that
experts have expressed some concern about is GarciniaCambogia which is an herbal extract.Muscle Tech Inc., providers of Hydroxycut, cites, “a study done showing that people taking
G. Cambodia with a diet of 2,000 calories a day and 30 minutes of exercise five
days a week lost an average of ten pounds in eight weeks” (Dawns 2003).Yet, another study done by the “Journal of
the American Medical Association found no difference in weight loss between
people taking G. cambogia and those taking a placebo”
(Dawns 2003).Yet the effects of G. cambogia are still
necessary to clarify its effects on humans and weight loss.Thus the effectiveness of G. cambogia is yet to be determined, but as of now there are
no harmful side-effects.

Would
I recommend AdvoCare?

Although there
are no studies proving the program is detrimental to health that does not mean
the program is safe and effective.There
are also no studies proving its effectiveness either. Also, most of AdvoCare’s endorsers are members of the company. The only
non-company affiliated endorsers are well-known athletes and coaches and their
testimonials could also be economically motivated.I feel that there is not enough research to
prove the product healthy and effective, and a few of the ingredients are still
being questioned in the medical field.Thus the overall lack of scientific evidence leaves me too skeptical to
be able to take AdvoCare without the doubt of adverse
effects if any at all.